TV makers slapped with record €1.47 billion fine

EU antitrust regulators have imposed a record cartel fine against six TV makers for anticompetitive behavior between 1996 and 2006.

The European Commission slapped Philips with a €313 million fine, LG came in second with a €295 million fine, followed by Panasonic and Samsung at €157 and €150 million. Toshiba, Technicolor and two Panasonic joint ventures also got fined.

Regulators concluded that the companies created two distinct cartels for TVs and computers monitors, abusing their position to fix prices.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia described the now defunct cathode ray tube cartel as a textbook example of a cartel, engaging in the “worst kinds of anti-competitive behavior” strictly forbidden to companies doing business in Europe.

Sadly, it took Euro regulators more than a decade to catch up with the cartel. In fact, when was the last time you bought a cathode-ray tube TV, or a cathode-ray tube anything for that matter?